With 47 percent of black voters and 44 percent of women voters, New York City Public Advocate
Bill de Blasio surges to 43 percent of likely voters in the Democratic primary for mayor, passing
the 40 percent cutoff and possibly avoiding a runoff, according to a Quinnipiac University poll
released today.

Former City Comptroller and 2009 Democratic nominee William Thompson is at 20
percent, with 18 percent for City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, 7 percent for former U.S. Rep.
Anthony Weiner, 4 percent for Comptroller John Liu, 1 percent for former Council member Sal
Albanese and 8 percent undecided.

This compares to results of an August 28 survey by the independent Quinnipiac (KWIN-
uh-pe-ack) University which showed de Blasio at 36 percent, with 21 percent for Quinn, 20
percent for Thompson, 8 percent for Weiner and 6 percent for Liu.

In today's survey, women likely Democratic primary voters go 44 percent for de Blasio,
19 percent for Thompson and 18 percent for Quinn. Men go 41 percent for de Blasio, 20 percent
for Thompson and 18 percent for Quinn. Black voters go 47 percent for de Blasio, 25 percent for
Thompson and 6 percent for Quinn. White voters go 42 percent for de Blasio, 28 percent for
Quinn and 16 percent for Thompson.

"Can Public Advocate Bill de Blasio keep his surge going for seven more days? If he
does, his first contribution could be to the New York City budget - saving the expense of a run-
off election," said Maurice Carroll, director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute.

"Dante's big Afro is the campaign image everyone remembers. What a TV commercial!
What a boost with everyone who has kids! What a plus in the black community!"

"Whether it's Dante or the issues, or a mixture of both, de Blasio leads Speaker Christine
Quinn among women and former Comptroller Bill Thompson among black voters," Carroll added.

"Council Speaker Christine Quinn's collapse could be part of a seeming New York
tradition of throwing female candidates under the bandwagon wheels. Well-known women such
as Carol Bellamy, Mary Codd and Ruth Messinger all came up short."

If there is a Democratic primary runoff, matchups are:

De Blasio over Quinn 66 - 25 percent;

De Blasio leads Thompson 56 - 36 percent;

Thompson tops Quinn 59 - 33 percent.

With seven days until the primary, 24 percent of likely Democratic primary voters say
there is a good chance they will change their mind, but 61 percent of Thompson voters, 59
percent of de Blasio backers and 56 percent of Quinn supporters say they definitely will vote for
their candidate.

De Blasio and Thompson lead in the "enthusiasm" rating as 40 percent of de Blasio
voters, 38 percent of Thompson backers and 30 percent of Quinn supporters say they are "very
enthusiastic" about their candidate.

"With his liberal platform, de Blasio would be a tempting target for Joseph Lhota and the
Republicans, if the race works out that way," Carroll said.

From August 28 - September 1, Quinnipiac University surveyed 750 likely Democratic
primary voters with a margin of error of +/- 3.6 percentage points and 101 likely Republican
primary voters with a margin of error of +/- 9.8 percentage points. Live interviewers call land
lines and cell phones.

The Quinnipiac University Poll, directed by Douglas Schwartz, Ph.D., conducts public
opinion surveys in Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Florida, Ohio, Virginia,
Colorado, Iowa and the nation as a public service and for research.

For more information, visit http://www.quinnipiac.edu/polling, or call (203) 582-5201, or follow us
on Twitter.

1. If the Democratic primary for Mayor were being held today, and the candidates were John Liu, Christine Quinn, Bill Thompson, Bill de Blasio, Anthony Weiner and Sal Albanese, for whom would you vote? (If undecided) As of today, do you lean more toward Liu, Quinn, Thompson, de Blasio, Weiner or Albanese? (Table includes leaners)

TREND: If the Democratic primary for Mayor were being held today, and the candidates were John Liu, Christine Quinn, Bill Thompson, Bill de Blasio, Anthony Weiner and Sal Albanese, for whom would you vote? (If undecided) As of today, do you lean more toward Liu, Quinn, Thompson, de Blasio, Weiner or Albanese? (Table includes leaners)

1a. (If candidate chosen q1) Will you definitely vote for (Candidate of choice q1), or is there a chance you could change your mind and vote for another of the candidates? IF CHANGE MIND: Would you say there's a good chance you'll change your mind, or would you say it's pretty unlikely?

TREND: (If candidate chosen) Will you definitely vote for (Candidate of choice), or is there a chance you could change your mind and vote for another of the candidates? IF CHANGE MIND: Would you say there's a good chance you'll change your mind, or would you say it's pretty unlikely?

2. Are there any candidates in the Democratic primary for Mayor that you would definitely not vote for under any circumstances? IF YES: Who is that? (Totals may add up to more than 100% because multiple responses were allowed)

TREND: Are there any candidates in the Democratic primary for Mayor that you would definitely not vote for under any circumstances? IF YES: Who is that? (Totals may add up to more than 100% because multiple responses were allowed)

3. (INTRO Q3-5: If none of the candidates in the Democratic primary for mayor gets 40% of the vote, there is a run-off election between the two candidates with the most votes.) If there is a run-off in the Democratic primary for mayor, and the candidates are Bill de Blasio and Christine Quinn, for whom would you vote? (If undecided) If the runoff were today, would you lean more toward de Blasio or Quinn? (Table includes leaners)

TREND: (INTRO: If none of the candidates in the Democratic primary for mayor gets 40% of the vote, there is a run-off election between the two candidates with the most votes.) If there is a run-off in the Democratic primary for mayor, and the candidates are Bill de Blasio and Christine Quinn, for whom would you vote? (If undecided) If the runoff were today, would you lean more toward de Blasio or Quinn? (Table includes leaners)

4. If there is a run-off in the Democratic primary for mayor, and the candidates are Bill de Blasio and Bill Thompson, for whom would you vote? (If undecided) If the runoff were today, would you lean more toward de Blasio or Thompson? (Table includes leaners)

TREND: If there is a run-off in the Democratic primary for mayor, and the candidates are Bill de Blasio and Bill Thompson, for whom would you vote? (If undecided) If the runoff were today, would you lean more toward de Blasio or Thompson? (Table includes leaners)

5. If there is a run-off in the Democratic primary for mayor, and the candidates are Christine Quinn and Bill Thompson, for whom would you vote? (If undecided) If the runoff were today, would you lean more toward Quinn or Thompson? (Table includes leaners)

TREND: If there is a run-off in the Democratic primary for mayor, and the candidates are Christine Quinn and Bill Thompson, for whom would you vote? (If undecided) If the runoff were today, would you lean more toward Quinn or Thompson? (Table includes leaners)

10. If the Republican primary for Mayor were being held today, and the candidates were Joe Lhota, John Catsimatidis, and George McDonald, for whom would you vote? (If undecided) As of today, do you lean more toward Lhota, Catsimatidis, or McDonald? (Table includes leaners)

TREND: If the Republican primary for Mayor were being held today, and the candidates were Joe Lhota, John Catsimatidis, and George McDonald, for whom would you vote? (If undecided) If the primary were today, would you lean more toward Lhota, Catsimatidis, or McDonald? (Table includes leaners)